


"sometimes, being a complete nerd comes in handy"

by pastisregret



Series: ask and answer [11]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-07-24 02:04:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20018461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastisregret/pseuds/pastisregret
Summary: dialogue prompt: "sometimes, being a complete nerd comes in handy"(two anons requested, so the first is ladrien and the second is ladynoir)





	1. ladrien

“Sometimes, being a complete nerd comes in handy,” Adrien tells Ladybug, grinning as he types. He hasn’t been able to get rid of the blush on his face for the past hour, and wears it with pride now, as if rouge was dusted onto his cheeks for a photoshoot.

“I can tell,” Marinette says, a gloved hand rested on the table. She’s watching him, his fingers flying over the keyboard and the screen filling up text. “I didn’t even know you knew how to code.”

“I picked it up a few years back, so I had something to do.” He looks back, smiling at her. “It gets boring being stuck up in this house all day.

“Sure, it does,” she mutters. “I bet getting your makeup done and champagne handed out is just _the worst_.”

“You know what I mean, Ladybug,” he says, not hiding the frown on his face as he continues typing. Long past the awkward stage of crush-meets-crushed on, he could afford to show his true emotions without fear of any setbacks in his four-part plan to make Ladybug fall in love with him.

“You know what _I_ mean too, Adrien,” she says. Of course, she knows what he was coming across with. How couldn’t she relate to his life? The constant strain of being perfect under Paris’ judgement gaze was always with her whenever she wore the suit, and his childhood surrounded by it surely didn’t do Adrien any favors. While her life wasn’t as sheltered off as Adrien’s nor as lonely, she knew firsthand that pressure was pressure all the same, and the pressure to be perfect could make one go mad.

“You know, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed. How do you even figure out what any of this means?”

“It’s just coding. It’s the same thing as learning a new language, or math.”

“You really _are_ a nerd,” she lets out, and feels a blush come over her cheeks as she realizes she’s just called _Adrien Agreste_ a _nerd_.

“A nerd who just helped you get full access to Paris’ cameras.” With a flourish, he clicked around a bit on her computer before displaying the images, Paris’ security cameras all for viewing. “ _Voilà_.”

“Finally! Now we can track down where that akuma went once and for all.” She grinned, clapping a hand on Adrien’s shoulder in excitement. He felt his heart just about burst out his chest, just sure she’d be able to sense his pulse through the masked hand.

Marinette was practically going to yo-yo out of the room, excited to see movement on the screen alerting her of where the elusive akuma had last been seen. After nearly searching all day for it so she could destroy its object, she was glad one trip to Adrien’s house let her one step closer to saving Paris.

“We?”

“Chat Noir and I, I mean,” she corrects. “Once I figure out where that silly cat went, it shouldn’t be too hard to take down that akuma. I should tell him to drop by and thank you for your help!”

“That won’t be necessary,” Adrien says, brushing off her offer. He’s met Chat Noir plenty of times, if any reflective surface was to count. “I’m perfectly fine being the guy in the shadows.”

“I get it, you don’t want any more spotlight on you. If word got out that you’re close friends with Ladybug _and_ Chat Noir, the paparazzi will never let you have peace again.”

“Like they do now,” Adrien says, chuckling. He straightens once more, tired and weary eyes looking over his work. Hacking into the system was no easy task, but he was fine with giving up his bragging rights in favor of protecting any chances of someone arranging for both Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste to be in the same room.

“You know,” Ladybug tells him, moving down to rest her face next to his, “You’re not really a nerd. You’re a _genius_.”

Adrien blushes, feeling if he goes any redder he’ll match her suit.


	2. ladynoir

“Sometimes, being a complete nerd comes in handy,” Chat says, looking back at his Lady. Crouched down before the power grid, he was pulling out several wires and using his claws to cut out the ones he wasn’t able to get to, an effective method at killing the lights.

“I’ll say. If you had used Cataclysm the akuma would’ve heard us. This way, we can save time and a recharge.” Marinette watches as Chat continues to pull and tug, each wire coming out and another section of the warehouse going dark.

“So, just when did you learn how to rewire power grids?” she asked, leaning on the wall and watching him. “Last I checked, I didn’t learn that when I became a superhero.”

“You get bored sometimes. And in those sometimes, you research things.”

“Researching things is like, trying to figure out how to tie a cherry stem with your tongue. Learning how to operate whole power grids? That’s like, engineer level stuff, Chat.”

“Well, wonderbug, you’ll be surprised to learn I go above and beyond. And since we’re having this conversation, did you know if you can tie a cherry stem with your tongue, it means you’re a good- “

“Hold your horses until after we save the day,” she says. “As much as I appreciate the flirting from time to time, we need to remember an akuma is running around, one that feeds off light energy and is probably looking for us this very minute.”

“You like my flirts?” Chat asks, picking up on the most relevant piece of information to him. Adrien grins, watching as his Lady’s face suddenly matches her suit.

“From time to time,” she responds. “That doesn’t mean _all_ the time.”

“But that means _sometimes_ , right?”

Marinette tries to roll her eyes, but can’t concentrate, too flustered by Chat’s question to even try to act normal.

“J-Just get back to the power grid,” she ends up saying, gesturing to it and drawing his attention back down. “We don’t have all day, Chat.”

He listens, focusing on the last few wires being pulled before only one set of lights remain on, smack dab in the middle of the warehouse.

“You know,” he says, voice low as they wait for the akuma, “I would really appreciate it if you told me what flirts worked, and what didn’t. I could really use the advice.”

Adrien gets a kick out of the way Ladybug turns even redder, blush easy to see with the aid of a cat’s night vision. He gets an even better kick when she denies she’s blushing, thinking she’s safe under the cover of darkness.


End file.
